Hunter and Prey
by Fareway
Summary: Hiccup has his hands full as not only do they discover a stalker has followed them home, but now another Viking hunts Hiccup. With Dagur still looming close by, another "addition" to Dragon's Edge, and this new threat, no one seems to be able to get a break. It appears the villains will be running the show this time around. (Sequel to my previous story "Unexpected")
1. Hide and Seek

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

 **A.N.**

 **Attention!** **This story is the sequel to Unexpected** **. I suggest you read that before continuing because it begins where Unexpected left off. If you have, then let's go!**

 **Welcome back!**

* * *

 **DreamWorks Dragons, Race to the Edge**

 **Hunter and Prey**

* * *

 **Chapter 1, Hide and Seek**

* * *

The Berserker ship pushed through the ocean's waters as it slowly approached a sea stack. Dagur glared indifferently as he waited, twiddling his fingers on his crossed arms.

Behind the sea stack were Hiccup, Astrid, and Fishlegs; their dragons clinging to the rock on a near vertical surface.

"Hiccup?" Dagur's voice rang out, but neither of the riders or dragons moved. "I'd love to continue our little game of hide and seek, but come one now. You can't escape my fleet!"

The ship was rounding the stack when Dagur spotted the Nadder's tail. Upon the ship's full roundabout, he watched as the dragon riders flew away before having to veer left to avoid more of his ships.

"Continue to follow them sir?" Savage asked.

"Yea," Dagur replied nonchalantly. "But don't shoot, just trail them."

Toothless, Stormfly, and Meatlug flew up higher where enemy weapons wouldn't reach. Not like they would shoot at them though, the armada had been following them for hours. It wasn't like they could keep up, it was simply because every time they thought they got away, more ships ended up coming from some random direction.

Obviously Dagur had groups posted throughout the Archipelago. And obviously, the dragons would still be able to get away if they flew above the clouds, but they still risked the Berserkers finding Dragon's Edge if they weren't careful.

"Hiccup, what now?" Astrid questioned wearily. "We've already doubled back from Volcanic Island."

"If we keep this up, our dragons will get tired. We need to lose them." Fishlegs added, feeling just as tense as Astrid.

"I know. We'll meet up with Snotlout and the twins and come up with a new plan." Hiccup announced, his voice a bit weak. His hand reached down to his leg before he grimaced. The pain hadn't subside. His calf felt swollen and it hurt to the touch, more so when he had to move it which was nearly all the time as he controlled Toothless' tail fin.

An hour later, the sun was beginning its set towards the horizon. Hiccup, Astrid, and Fishlegs flew over another group of Berserker ships as they neared a small island. The island was surrounded by another larger group of ships.

Toothless shot a plasma blast into the air, it exploding into a ball of light. Moments later, Hookfang and Barch emerged from their cover and flew over to rejoin their herd. With all six together now, they flew off towards the setting sun hoping the light would blind the Berserkers seekers a bit.

The ships immediately left anchor and followed, but no attempt at firing occurred. Eventually, the dragons proved to be the better and they lost the two group of ships.

Hiccup and Toothless flew at the front, the riders forming a V-formation. He turned his head to announce to his friends.

"We'll fly half way to Berk," He informed them of his plan. His voice was lacking emotion, "Give them a reason to think that's where we're going. By that time, it'll be dark, so we'll be covered enough to head to Dragon's Edge without worry."

"Ugh, good, because I think I'm gonna fall out of my saddle soon." Snotlout retorted lightly.

* * *

Night fell upon the land and the moonlight gleamed off of the dragon's wings. They still flew in their V-formation above the clouds.

Hiccup's arms were sluggish, nearly hanging limply from their sockets as he focused ahead. He had to blink his eyes and rub them to keep them from becoming too heavy for him. A yawn was brought on and he did little to suppress it.

"No, don't—don't yawn—you're gonna—" Snotlout warned drowsily before yawning too. "You made me yawn."

"Sorry." Hiccup apologized.

Astrid groaned, "Ugh, how much further?"

"It shouldn't be long now…" Hiccup replied blearily.

"Hiccup, I think Ruff and Tuff fell asleep." Fishlegs informed him. Hiccup turned his head back to check on the twins. Sure enough, Ruffnut was drooling on her arm which rested on Barf's left horn and Tuffnut was upside down hanging from the saddle. His arms swayed a bit as he mumbled something about his blanket.

Hiccup groaned and pulled on Toothless' saddle bar. The dragon twisted around and flew back towards Barf and Belch. He circled the Zippleback before letting out a plasma blast. The explosion instantly jerked the twins awake with alert eyes.

"I'm awake!" Ruff shouted unconsciously.

"AHHHHHH!" Tuff screamed. One, because he was upside down and two, because he saw something far below them. "We're being attacked again!"

"Tuff, we're not being attacked. You two fell asleep." Hiccup corrected him.

"Oh," Tuffnut replied incredulously, lifting himself back up into the saddle—properly. "Then who's that?" He questioned whilst pointing down. Hiccup furrowed his eyebrows and followed Tuff's finger. Sure enough, three ships became visible as a portion of the clouds gave way.

Toothless growled at the small fleet as Hiccup noted something peculiarly familiar about them.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me!" Snotlout roared in exasperation. They had already lost the Berserkers on their way back to Berk, successfully tricking them into thinking that was where they were going, only now to find their plan—yet again—had failed. They were almost to Dragon's Edge; the annoyance was felt by all except Hiccup.

"Wait," Hiccup stopped their assumption. "That's not Berserker ships." He concluded. Observing the sails, the symbols were not Skrills; they were crossed swords of fire. And there were only three ships, not the ten or more Dagur had for his groups posted throughout the Archipelago.

"It's not?" Snotlout nearly cheered out of his saddle. "Oh, thank Thor."

"Those don't look friendly, though." Fishlegs observed, noting the strangely familiar metal cages the ship was carrying.

"Stay out of sight," Hiccup commanded. "We'll continue our flight back to Dragon's Edge."

 _But we'll have to remain vigilant out on the seas._ He added in his own head, gazing down at the fleet discomfort.

* * *

"I wasn't lying about the letter, Gobber." Stoick's deep voice rang out as the two, plus Skullcrusher tailing behind, walked through Dragon's Edge. They had been checking the huts, but found no sign of the kids or their dragons. In fact, the only dragons they came across was Smidvarg and the gang.

"Yeah, well when you wake me up from a mid morning nap to say we're going to see Hiccup because he's being worshiped by a tribe of Vikings who see him as their Dragon God and that they are now our allies and we must go to their island to create a treaty, how was I supposed to know if that was real or a dream?" Gobber explained his small dilemma.

"Whatever the case, I'm sure my son will have a reasonable explanation for why we were called." Stoick stated right before opening the door to the twin's hut. Peering inside, they found the building still and dark. No one was inside.

"Still no sign of the kids. Gobber, I don't like this."

"Oh, here they come." Gobber stated informed lightly as he gazed up into the sky. Stoick lifted a hand to shield his eyes away from some of the sunlight as he scanned the blue sky. The V-formation of dragons was descending down towards Dragon's Edge. Stoick smiled at the sight, the uneasiness in his heart settling to form a warm smile.

But why did he still feel like something was wrong?

They walked up to the center platform where all of the rider's operations and group meetings were held and planned out. They arrived just in time to see the dragons land on the wooden deck outside.

"Haha, there you are." Stoick greeted, "I was just about to get Skullcrusher here ready to go track you down. What—" Stoick noticed their tired expressions and weak appearances. "What's wrong?" He inquired.

Hiccup slid off the saddle, but didn't put his left leg on the floor, he kept it up. The sight caused Stoick's mind to rethink his current priorities.

"Hiccup, what happened?" he asked again as he walked to his son and offered him support.

"Dagur..." At the sound of the man's name and the state his son was in, Stoick glared at the thought.

"He ambushed us a million times over," Astrid helped explain as she too dropped down to the floor. "We've been running from him all day."

"All day?" Gobber repeated in question, "You have dragons, they're ships could never keep up with you."

"Dagur managed to expand his armada, had groups posted nearly throughout the Archipelago. We kept running into them." Hiccup explained further.

"All of you, get some sleep. We'll discuss matters in the morning." Stoick commanded lightly. The teens didn't argue, in fact, some even moaned in relief—Snotlout and Fishlegs to be more precisely.

As the riders and their dragons retired to their huts, and Stoick helped Hiccup limp back to his hut with Toothless in toe, Gobber was left standing by himself.

"Uh, where do I sleep?" His voice asked to only air as everyone else was now gone.

* * *

The door to Hiccup's hut opened with a small creak as the man himself, Stoick, and Toothless hobbled on in; well, only Hiccup hobbled. Stoick helped his son over to his bed, standing aside for him to lay down. Hiccup groaned and placed his palms over his eyes.

Toothless sat his butt down on the other side of the bed, tilting his head as Hiccup let out his stress. Poor hooman, why must trouble chase him?

"Come on, let's take a look at it." Stoick ushered, but remained patient with his son in knowing very well how he was feeling. Hiccup leaned forward and lifted up his left leg. Careful to not touch the swollen calf, he removed his prosthetic and lifted the pant leg. A large bruise presented itself in full glory across the back of his leg. About the size of a grown man's hand, it painted the skin in purple and green with red surrounding the area. It looked horrible and felt just the same. Even Toothless moaned from the sight.

"Huh, good, it's just a bruise." Hiccup all but whispered in respite before returning his head down on his wooden bed, his arms now laying straight out.

"And a nasty one at that!" Stoick commented before gently pressing his finger to the discolored skin. Hiccup jumped and jerked his leg up, nearly hitting him in the face in doing so. Toothless almost jumped back from the sudden act, but instead, only twitched slightly and winced.

"OW!" He roared, scowling at Stoick for the action.

"That bad, huh?" Stoick asked rhetorically. His soft smile left when he saw Hiccup's frown. "What? I'm not Gothi." Hiccup dropped the façade and positioned himself right in his bed, laying his back up against the headboard.

"Do you think Gothi could make something so it doesn't hurt as much to walk?" He asked wishfully.

Stoick placed his hands on his hips, "I'm sure she'll have something, but it's anyone's guess that you need to rest. Getting weight off that leg will help."

"No argument there." Hiccup replied jokingly as he closed his eyes; Toothless following his lead as the dragon settled himself on his own bed nearby. As Stoick was beginning to leave, he stopped and turned around.

"Oh, one more question." Hiccup opened one eye for him to go ahead. "Where do I sleep?"

* * *

 **A.N.**

 **Okay, so this chapter actually had a few re-writes, but I finally settled on something I liked. As always, I like to post two chapters for new stories, but the second chapter will be delayed a bit.**

 **And remember, this is only the calm before the storm.**

 **Thank you all! God bless!**


	2. Message of Warning

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

 **A.N.**

 **I wish to thank all who read, reviewed, followed, and favorite-ed!**

 **A heads up, the summary puts it all lightly. This story is going to be tense and full of suspense! A lot of crap is going to happen. I don't know how long it'll be, but obviously more than 10 chapters.**

 **One of the main antagonists in this sequel is actually an OC requested of a certain someone. You know who you are *wink* *wink*** _ **cough cough**_ **. He was actually very close to one of my own OC's so I decided to use him—perfectly placed too, if I may say so myself.**

 **Also I was just checking my DeviantArt page and found out someone by the name of** _ **Foxxlight**_ **gave me a llama badge. XD Random, but I love it! Thank you!**

 **It stares into my soul O.o**

* * *

 **DreamWorks Dragons, Race to the Edge**

 **Hunter and Prey**

* * *

 **Chapter 2, Message of Warning**

* * *

The sun was beginning its trek up into the dark sky. Splashes of orange and pink colored the clouds, highlighting their curves and giving the illusion of mass. It was one of the autumn's treasures; sun rises were always more vibrant before the dead of winter.

The waves reflected the colors well, perfectly capturing the cloud's image to copy it on the surface. A single dot dashed across the reflection, it's fast—almost unnatural—movement mirrored to its original. Even though the waves distorted details, the figure yet remained real.

Thin, sleek, and fast, it slithered under the clouds and snaked its way over to the island: Dragon's Edge. And with no alert to its presence, it disappeared into the trees.

No sound heard.

* * *

 _Thunk_

Hiccup winced ever so lightly as he slumbered in the depths of his dreams.

 _Thunk_

Another wince and a small shrug his unconscious form gave. His dragon twitched an ear, but did nothing else.

 _Thunk_

Toothless moved his head to the right a bit and patted his ear sluggishly.

 _Thunk_

His peeked out; what on earth was that noise?

 _Thunk_

His head shot up at the unusual sound, the dragon's body alert and stiff. His eyes darted to and fro in search of the ruckus. With another thunk, Hiccup moaned and turned his body on the side facing away from Toothless. Toothless checked on him before moving his gaze over to the far corner of the hut.

 _Thunk_

Gobber's hook rooted into the wooden table again, holes from previous penetrations present. He was muttering something incoherently, something about rats and trying to kill them. The Vikings sleeping against the table, laying his head down on its surface while his butt sat on a stool.

Toothless' ears dropped to his head as he glared at Gobber with irritation before groaning in protest and laying his head back into his paws. He licked his chaps twice and snoozed off.

 _Thunk—thunk—slap—thack!_

The Night Fury's ears perked up once more at the disturbance, but he didn't open his eyes. Hiccup made another moan, his dreams fading as his mind came into awareness.

 _THUNK THUNK THUNK_

"Hiccup! Kill those darn rats!" Gobber shouted in his sleep. Hiccup jumped up from the call of his name and rushed his attention towards Gobber with big eyes full of question. Toothless opened his eyes and lifted his head, rested eyes watching Hiccup intently.

Once Hiccup registered what was going on, he rolled his eyes and gave a chuckle. Gobber was dreaming about something and he was obviously in it. The chuckle turned into a yawn. Hiccup stretched his arms and swung his legs out. Toothless got up from his cozy little spot and stretched out his scales cat-style.

Replacing his prosthetic he took off last night and never put back on, the young heir tested his left leg before taking a few steps. Didn't hurt as bad, but he could tell his calf muscles were bruised. Felt like he had one heck of a Charley horse not too long ago.

Toothless shook himself free from sleep and trotted over to Hiccup for an early morning greeting. The two soon took off into the sky for their early morning flight.

With well-deserved rest and the pain from his leg gone, Hiccup was brighter than usual and very anxious to discuss their findings from days prior with his friends. First off, he had to find his dad. He wasn't in the hut when he woke.

"Alright bud, let's find my dad. Shouldn't be too hard, just look for a large, beefy, ornery Viking on top of a large, beefy, ornery dragon." Toothless gave a small chuckle from that remark before looking himself. He used his other senses too and soon caught the scent of the Rumblehorn. Or was that the Chief?

He dived down to the thicket below near the cliff side just shy of view of Fishleg's hut. Wait, he smelled Gronckle too…

"There you are." Hiccup announced as Toothless hovered into view. Fishlegs and Meatlug were with Stoick and Skullcrusher picking… plants. Not something Hiccup thought he would ever find his father doing.

"What are you doing?"

"Well, good morning to you too, son." Stoick greeted. Toothless landed and Hiccup hopped off. With still stiffness in his leg, he took his time to walk over to the two.

"Hiccup, you're just in time. Look what we found! Dragon tracks!" Fishlegs informed him eagerly.

"You guys came out here to look for dragons?" Hiccup questioned. He knew his father loved the time they spent searching for Skullcrusher not too long ago, but was he being replaced by Fishlegs now?

"Of course not." Stoick answered. "We were out here gathering ingredients for your salve. We just happen to run into these tracks."

"Dad," Hiccup half-giggled, "I didn't know you had knowledge in botany properties of healing."

"I don't, well, obviously I do. When I was younger, I'd always be getting in a mess of trouble, hurt'n my arm, my leg, hehehe, other places….

The point is, I've experienced these extreme muscles pains before and have learned what Gothi put in her salves."

"Wow." Fishlegs admire. "You studied her methods and we're repeating them?"

"Nah, I always thought she was a witch and nagged her to tell me what she was putting in those potions so I knew I wasn't being poisoned." Stoick corrected nonchalantly. Hiccup shook his head with a smile. Now that sounded like his father.

"Oh." Fishlegs replied simply before returning his attention to the tracks.

"Well, I don't know what else to say but, thanks." Hiccup shrugged awkwardly. He'd always had a hard time with his dad, but now… it was almost definite they had finally learned to _fully_ get along. And it only took fifteen years.

"Hiccup, have you ever since these tracks before?" Fishlegs questioned, changing the subject. Hiccup studied the tracks while Toothless began sniffing them. It wasn't footprints, more like slithering marks. The first thing that came to mind was a Whispering Death—and that wasn't good.

"Are those Whispering Death tracks?" He asked, hoping for a no. Well, he got it.

"Can't be, there's no scratch in the dirt to indicate the presence of its spines." Fishlegs explained. "It could be a Timberjack's though."

"But Timberjacks don't slither." Hiccup reminded him.

"Well there's no other kind of dragon we have record of that has a thin, serpentine-like body." Fishlegs informed.

"So, this is a new dragon?" Hiccup concluded.

"Ooooh, it's got to be!" Fishlegs shivered with glee. "Hiccup, we have to follow the tracks! They're still fresh!"

"I'm up for it, what about you dad?" Hiccup replied with his hands placed firmly on his hips. It was a stance he shared with his father.

"Now you know I'd never give up an opportunity for a good hunt. Besides, now Skullcrusher can help." Stoick responded, leading his Rumblehorn down to sniff the tracks. The hefty dragon studied the thin lines drawn in the dirt and sniffed out the area. It was indeed fresh so he got the scent quickly. He roared in letting them know he was ready.

"Haha, lead the way, Skullcrusher!" Stoick cheered him on once he hopped up onto the saddle. Hiccup and Fishlegs were already on their dragons and as soon as Skullcrusher took off into the forest, they followed.

Skullcrusher led them to the eastern beach, setting down in the sand before continuing to sniff. He roared up into the sky before sitting down idly. He lost the scent and thus lost the trail. It lead out here to the beach, so the dragon may very well have just left the island.

Confused at the Rumblehorn's actions, Stoick slide off of the saddle and walked around to look his dragon in the face.

"Skullcrusher?" Stoick questioned. Said dragon roared again in response, but remained where he sat staring out at sea. Meatlug and Toothless hovered down and landed beside the idle Rumblehorn.

"The dragon must have left if the trail ends here." Hiccup concluded in common sense.

Fishlegs' shoulders slumped, "Aw, and we were so close."

Suddenly, the dragons lifted their heads at the call of another. The Vikings heard it too and it was one of pain. Toothless stood up and called out, but he got a weaker cry in return.

"Where is that coming from?" Fishlegs asked as his eyes scanned the beach, Hiccup and Stoick doing the same. Toothless darted off down the beach alongside Meatlug, both their riders shocked at the sudden haste in their step. Skullcrusher and Stoick ran side by side, the dragon not waiting for his rider to get back on, but knew he could keep up.

There was a bend in up ahead and from the echo of the cries getting louder, Hiccup could tell their owner was just around the corner. As the dragons rounded the bend, they were brought upon a sight no one wanted to see.

A blue Deadly Nadder lay in the sand not far from the tide. Blood coated the sand in a trail from where the dragon dragged itself from the water. It was laying on its side moaning and just barely flinching from the pain.

Hiccup took in a sharp breath in at the sight. He jumped off of the saddle as soon as Toothless was close enough and ran over to the downed Nadder. The dragon ceased its cries at the sight of strangers, fear in its eyes—but not because of the new comers.

Hiccup knelt down and placed his hands on some of the wounds, hoping to stop some of the blood. His eyes looked around for anything to help, but he came up short of nothing.

"Quickly, we have to do something!" He cried out. Fishlegs stood just behind him, but didn't know what to do. The dragon's breaths became shallower as the seconds rolled by.

Upon examination, some of the spikes on its crown were torn out. Its talons were missing too as well as most of its tail spines. There were rope marks around the neck like it was strangled when tied up, but the worst were the multiple knife wounds littering its abdomen; and Hiccup knew they were from a knife because said knife was still imbedded in its side.

Toothless took and uneasy step towards the Nadder and sniffed.

Death.

He stepped back and cooed in sorrow, big green eyes looking down at the red sand.

Meatlug shared the feeling, her ears back as she leaned into the comforting arm Fishlegs had wrapped around her.

"She's losing too much blood! I can't—she's gonna—" Hiccup closed his eyes and swallowed. "Fishlegs, you have to go back and get some bandages!" He pleaded to his friend. Fishlegs looked like he was on the verge of tear himself into pieces, not knowing if to heed Hiccup command or do nothing. There just wasn't enough time.

"I—I don't think—"

"There's no time, we have to save her!" Hiccup's voice broke. A hand rested on his shoulder and he turned his eyes away from the Nadder. Stoick had knelt beside him.

"Hiccup—" He replied softly. It was a tone that came with the message. It was too late. Hiccup searched his father's eyes, hoping for a better answer, but he came up short of nothing again. He bowed his head and watched as the Nadder's breathes shortened and lessened. Her eyes looked into Hiccup's with fear.

"I'm so sorry." Hiccup whispered as a single tear fell down his cheek. He closed his eyes and laid his head down on hers. Only a second later, the Nadder stopped breathing and limped.

Hiccup lifted his head away, but didn't lift up his eyes. He stared at the blood on his hands as a tear fell into the mix. He let himself remain like that for at least a minute before looking up at the knife. It had a white colored hilt with crossed swords of fire.

He glared at the dagger as if it was the bane of his existence. Standing up, he placed one hand on the Nadder's stomach and pulled out the dagger with the other. He didn't bother taking another glance, this wasn't about revenge.

"We have to bury her." He whispered without looking away from the corpse. The others silently agreed.

* * *

The dragon watched from the safety of the trees, its thin body lying curled around a tree with its wings folded in. Sharp black eyes witnessed the scene as other senses caught whiff of the sorrow.

It slithered down the tree, large front talons on its wings acting as support. Its body was heavier due to the weight of the water still soaking its fur. It had taken a swim so as to lose the Rumblehorn, allowing the Vikings to follow only to this spot. Now they knew, so action can be taken upon the ones responsible. The age long threat may very well be over in a matter of days. Maybe now, the dragon could live in peace.

Now to only figure out which Viking was the leader…

* * *

 **Apologies for any grammar mistakes I've missed.**


	3. Notes

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

 **A.N.**

 **So my trial period for Microsoft Word is over and I have to resort back to WordPad... I've had better days...**

 **Also, as you can tell, my free time to write has been cut because I've recently got a job. Plus, I've been having dental issues and may have to have my wisdom teeth pulled because the one might be infected -_- I've** _ **definitely**_ **had better days.**

 **Apologies for the long wait. I really have to get into a scheduel. How about this, every Sunday I'll post a new chapter. I'm starting work soon so Sunday's would be the best days to write/post.**

 **Thank you!**

* * *

 **DreamWorks Dragons, Race to the Edge**

 **Hunter and Prey**

* * *

 **Chapter 3, Notes**

* * *

The sun began its set on the earth, laying out colors of orange, pink, and purple across the horizon. The light cast shadows on the few clouds in the sky, giving them an illusion of volume. Though it was a beautiful set up, the time was all but tranquil.

The riders and their dragons all gathered in front of a tomb stone alongside a cliff. There they had buried the dear Nadder that suffered at the hands of a cruel man. All were in silent, stuck in their minds as they wondered in questioning. None but perhaps Stoick and Gobber had run into something like this. The war against the dragons was long forgotten, but here they were standing over another victim of a similar affair. There was but one question on their mind...

"Who could have done this?" Astrid spoke at last, piercing the silence between the eight. Hiccup narrowed his eyes at the question, his grip on the dagger tightening. He brought the knife up to glance at the blade. He had cleaned it not too long ago and with it free of blood, he was able to see an inscription. However, it was in a language he hadn't recognized and therefore could not decipher what it read.

Still, it looked familiar...

"I don't know, but I bet we can find 'em with this." Hiccup replied hopeful whilst holding out the dagger. "Skullcrusher will be able to track them down." He explained further.

Astrid gave him a sideways glance, but it was Fishlegs who spoke first.

"What do you plan to do once we find them?" he asked almost hesitantly.

"Convince them that dragons are our friends. Why, what were you thinking?"

Fishlegs shrugged his shoulders, "That we'd go and stop them."

"Or beat 'em up." Snotlout added.

"Set 'em on fire!" Ruffnut cheered and fist pumped.

"And watch them burn!" Tuff added just as cheerfully.

"Or," Astrid quickly chimed in before the twins could get carried away, "Go show them who's boss."

"And raise an army of dragons against them because they don't think like we do?" Hiccup slumped his shoulders. "Guys, I want to stop this just as much as you do, maybe even more, but violence is only going to make matters worse."

"Well look at that, he's starting to sound like you Stoick." Gobbers voice resonated from behind them. Hiccup looked up at him in surprise. Gobber and Stoick, along with Skullcrusher, trotted over to them.

"At least the diplomatic side anyway." Gobber added.

"Ai, and I agree." Stoick complimented with his hands positioned on his hips. "The best way to deal with this is diplomatically. We don't need more lunatics hunting you kids down." Stoick said before jumping up onto Skullcrusher.

"Where are you going?" Hiccup questioned, seeing the obvious signs of departure.

"To sign that treaty with those dragon lover folks." Stoick replied, giving a hand to Gobber.

"Now? But Dagur could still be out there?" Hiccup tried to understand.

"It's nearly dark Hiccup," Gobber explained, now up on the saddle behind Stoick. "They won't be able to see us at night."

"That never stopped him."

"Well it never stopped me either." Stoick retorted before waving his son goodbye. "We'll be back in about three days." Skullcrusher took off into the sky, soon disappearing from view with the daylight.

Hiccup sighed. "Well, I guess there's nothing else to do but figure out who this belongs to." Hiccup suggested while holding up the dagger.

"And those tracks!" Fishlegs added eagerly.

Snotlout snorted, "Count me out, I'm going to bed." He said whilst turning and waving them adieu.

"It's just past sun down," Astrid retorted with her hands on her hips, "Since when do you go to bed _this_ early?"

"Since I have nothing interesting keeping me up." Snotlout countered.

Fishlegs spoke up, "But we have to decipher the inscription and cross-reference the dragons from the temple and—"

"Did I not say _interesting_?" Snotlout sneered, sitting on his saddle.

"That's okay, Snotlout." Hiccup responded with a charming tone, "I only expected the valuable team members to attend." He then turned his attention over to Ruff and Tuff. "Guys, you're excused."

"Alright!" They both shouted in joy before flying off on their Zippleback.

Snotlout watched with a look of disbelief. "Are you kidding me! You're gonna place me next to the twins!" He complained before stomping over to Hiccup. "I am just as valuable as Fishlegs over there—actually, strike that, I'm even _more_ valuable than Fishlegs. So don't think I'm too good for these meetings, because I'm going!"

* * *

"I can't believe I fell for that." Snotlout moaned out as his head rested in his hand, elbow on desk. The four of them gathered in the... meeting... hut (I don't know what else to call that, its that building where they discuss important issues. If someone knows what its actually called, please tell me). Their dragons rested outside, sleeping soundlessly under the moonlight.

"It's okay Snotlout, I still think you're a cut above the twins." Hiccup commented with a sideways smirk; the Dragon Eye in his hands.

"Don't talk to me." Snotlout growled before looking away. Hiccup shook his head, the grin still on his face. He placed the Dragon eye down on the table and knelt beside it.

"Okay, Toothless, do your thing." He encouraged. Toothless gurgled happily and opened his mouth to burn a slow flame. The purple light cast the images from the Dragon Eye onto the wall. The pictures changed when Hiccup flipped through the lens.

"Fishlegs, you still have that Banshee lens?" Hiccup asked Fishlegs. Fishlegs nodded and walked it over to him. He exchanged his thanks and placed the lens into the Eye. The image changed to show the Banshee at different angles.

"Wow," Fishlegs gawked. He started counting the wings. "Ten wings, what do you suppose their used for?"

"Uh, flying, duh." Snotlout commented sarcastically.

Fishlegs gave a groan, "I know _that_. But any all dragons can fly with just _one_ set of wings, why does the Banshee have ten?"

"It could definitely fly in any kind of weather; with shorter wing spans it'll be a cinch in harsh winds." Astrid surmised. She stood off to Fishlegs' right, hands crossed over her chest.

"It very well may be the best flyer of all dragon species." Hiccup deduced. "With that thin body, sharp turns couldn't possibly be an issue. It looks like it could just snake across the sky. Heh, you may have a competitor bud." Hiccup said jokingly over at Toothless. Said dragon huffed and turned the other way, rolling his eyes.

"But why is it called the Banshee?" Astrid questioned.

"An excellent question, Astrid." Fishlegs complimented her before grunting, "Ugh, if only we could read this language."

"Wait a second..." While Hiccup examined the text, something dawned on him. It looked familiar. He pulled out the dagger and checked the inscription on the blade. He then rushed over to the wall and held it up, side by side to a portion of the text. Fishlegs and Astrid—and Snotlout who cared to take a peek—nearly gasped.

"It's the same language!" Fishlegs concluded.

"I knew it looked familiar!" Hiccup stated

"Hiccup," Fishlegs twiddled his fingers nervously at a thought, "We got the Dragon Eye from a trapper's ship. If this is the same language then..."

"The Nadder was killed by dragon trappers. And the fact that she was able to fly here in that condition indicates that it wasn't a far flight."

"Meaning...?" Snotlout asked hesitantly. They all knew where it was going.

"Meaning, these dragon trappers are close by and can very well find our island."

"Our dragons are in danger." Astrid added fearfully.

"Should we, I don't know, go back to Berk?" Fishlegs asked.

"No," Hiccup glared down at the floor, "It's just like what my father said, we can't keep running."

"That's not what he said—" Snotlout replied shrewdly.

"It's what he meant." Hiccup interrupted. "Okay, we're gonna have to set some ground rules. No one is to fly off the island without a partner. That way, if one gets into trouble the other will be able to help."

"What about the Banshee? The last thing we need are these guys trapping and killing more dragons." Astrid inquired.

"If it's still on the island, then we'll look for it in the morning. But for now, we need some one on watch. Whose turn is it?" Hiccup asked and glanced between the three.

"Don't look at me, I was the last one on watch." Snotlout replied. Astrid shook her head no.

"I think it's the twins' turn." Fishlegs responded.

* * *

Ruffnut and Tuffnut gazed down at their boar pit with a gleam of yearning. Ruff sighed while Tuff crossed his arms and tapped his foot.

"It needs to be deeper." He pointed down at the pit.

"But its late and I'm tired. Who's gonna dig it?" Ruff groaned.

"Well, I was going to if you were to help, but..." He began to think, chin in hand.

"Do we really have to wait until tomorrow?" Ruff groaned again. Her arms were hanging down as she slumped forward.

"The way I see it is one, we wait until tomorrow, or two, _you_ wait until tomorrow when you're awake enough to dig."

"But I thought you said you'd help me?"

"What are you talking about? I never said that. Your brain is malfunctioning beyond normal."

"Don't get sarcastic with me, I'm too tired to understand it."

The leaves moved aside as the snout pushed forward, sharp eyes peering out at the two Vikings. White-ish blue skin nearly glowed in the dark, so before it could be seen, it moved back behind cover.

"You won't even be able to understand it even if you were wide awake."

The twin's voices reverberated out and was heard clearly by the dragon. It crawled around the brush and snuck its way over to the hut.

"That's it, I'm going to bed! You can go dig the boar pit yourself." Ruff waved him off and began waddling back to their hut, which was in fact above them.

"You're leaving me?! Oh some sister you are! Good job, Ruffnut!"

"Not listening to you!

The dragon crawled into the hut, scarring the chicken that was sleeping on Tuffnut's bed. It fluttered out, bawking madly as some of its feathers scattered into the air. It landed straight on Ruffnut's face, causing her to scream and stagger backwards. The dragon slithered out of the hut and up onto the roof.

Ruff pulled the chicken off of her face and glared over at her brother.

"Control your duck will you!" She yelled as she threw it at him. It flapped down to the ground and bounced a bit towards Tuff's feet.

"Don't blame me, he's petrified."

"Of what?"

"Probably your face." Tuff retorted before laughing.

 _"Ruffnut_."

"What?!" Ruff called out in annoyance. What on earth did her brother want now, she just wanted to sleep.

"What?" Tuff questioned, holding the chicken to try and calm it down. "Can't you see I'm busy. Go to bed will ya!"

" _Ruffnut_."

"Then quit calling my name!"

"I'm not calling your name!"

" _Ruffnut_."

Ruff's eyes opened wider now as she shrunk into herself. "Then who's calling my name?" Tuff dropped the chicken and jogged over to her, listening in to the darkness.

" _Ruffnut_."

"There it is again!" Ruff whined as she quickly tucked behind her brother only to peer over his shoulder. Tuff glanced around, more than a little freaked.

"Uh, I think—I think it's coming from over there." He said while pointing off to the right, towards the woods. They tip toed towards the trees, hearing Ruff's name once again. Something flew over them and both looked up with gasps.

"Ugh, I bet you its that Smidvarg playing tricks on us again. He did this last time." Tuff commented, convinced there was nothing to be afraid of. "Come on let's go home." He said, turning around and leaving Ruffnut where she stood.

Suddenly, a gust of wind knocked him over and he was left on the ground hearing Ruffnut screaming above him.

"Ruff?!" he called out, but could only hear her screams grow further and further away.

"RUFFNUT!"


	4. The Bashee

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

 **A.N.**

 **Thank you guys so much for the reviews and support. Clubhouse, got it! Just couldn't think of the word. I do want to say its really helpful to hear from you guys, gives my determination for these stories a nice reboot and stirs ups my excitement in writing! So thank you so much!**

* * *

 **DreamWorks Dragons, Race to the Edge**

 **Hunter and Prey**

* * *

 **Chapter 4, The Banshee**

* * *

"HICCUP!" Tuffnut screamed as he stumbled up the ramp towards the Clubhouse; the chicken following. He quickly grabbed the handle and pulled the door open, squeezing in when just enough space was available. "Help! Help! Heeeeeeeeeeeeelp!"

Hiccup and the others quickly turned at Tuff's frantic squabbling. Toothless lifted his head up and perked his ears, jumping down from where he sat near the table and took Hiccup's side over by Tuffnut.

"Wow, Tuff, calm down!" Hiccup held his hands out, "Just stay calm, what happened?"

"Okay," Tuffnut took a breath, "Okay, normally I wouldn't care, but… Ruff's gone! It took her! It came from out of nowhere and it—she's gone!" He squealed while curling into himself.

"Wha—whoa, whoa, whoa, wait. _It_?" Hiccup tried to understand. Something took Ruffnut? Astrid, Fishlegs, and Snotlout joined Hiccup beside Tuff. All of their faces mirrored Hiccup's: confused and worried.

"Yes, _it_. I don't know! She heard me calling her name and started yelling at me to stop, but I wasn't calling her name, I was busy with the chicken!" Tuffnut threw his hands down towards the chicken standing beside him. Said bird bawked and fluttered its wings for expression.

"So we go looking for it, following the noise into the woods—cliché, right? And then all of a sudden, swoop, grab, screech, GONE! Ruff's taken up into the sky!" He finished while waving his hands every which way to provide better imagery.

"Into the sky? You mean she got taken by a dragon?" Fishlegs surmised.

"I don't know! I couldn't see anything." Tuffnut answered, hating himself right now for not being of any further help.

"Then how do you know she was flown away?" Hiccup inquired.

"Because I could hear her annoying squeals of horror from above."

"Ruffnut taken by a dragon?" Fishlegs pondered, "Hiccup, you don't think it could have been Banshee do you?" Hiccup stood with his chin in hand, other on hip.

"There's no way to know for sure." He said. Astrid looked Tuffnut in the eye.

"Are you sure she was taken?" she interrogated.

"Yes!"

"By a dragon?"

"Yes!"

"Just now?"

"Yes!"

Snotlout rolled his eyes, "This isn't some trick right?"

"Yes! No wait... no! I mean, yes it's _not_ a trick... or is it _no_ it's not a trick?"

"Tuffnut, focus!" Hiccup grabbed his shoulders a shook him. "Take us to where she disappeared."

* * *

The dragons flew down and landed by the twin's hut. Tuffnut hopped off of Toothless' saddle and walked over towards the woods before stopping and turning the face them. The rest of the gang had gotten off of their saddles and approached their panicked friend.

"We were here, and we heard the voice coming from..." Tuff looked around; from the top of the hut, to the woods. He pointed his finger over towards the trees. "Over there!"

"And you didn't see anything?" Astrid questioned.

"No. It was dark and I had my back turned. I just felt this strong gust of wind that knocked me over and then she was gone." He explained using his hands again for emphasis.

"Tuff, you said a _voice_ called out to her?" Hiccup reminded, the gears in his brain moving. "What did it sound like?"

Tuffnut took a bit to think about the question, "That's a very interesting question because it sounded a lot like... " Tuff looked around awkwardly, "me." They all looked at him with raised eyebrows. Snotlout threw his hands up and groaned.

"I knew it! It's just another one of their stupid "Loki" tricks!" He growled in annoyance, feeling stupid to have even felt concerned. How could he fall for their idiotic plays? "Haha, very funny, you had us going there for a bit now cut it out!"

"Uh, excuse me." Tuff snapped back, "Even if this was a scheme concocted by either one of our brilliant minds, my sister would be here to bask in the glory of victory. So, answer me this, why isn't she here?" He glared at them sideways with big eyes.

Fishlegs, Astrid, and Snotlout glared right back in irritation, but Hiccup continued to feel sorry; the look evident on his face.

"Because she probably hiding away, ready to jump out and scare us." Astrid replied blankly. Tuffnut glances back and forth.

"Oh, okay you got me there." He slumped in defeat.

"I'm outta here." Snotlout announced, turning to walk back to Hookfang and go to bed.

"Me too." Fishlegs agreed, he too walking to Meatlug.

"Can't believe I actually fell for that." Astrid groaned, following Fishlegs and Snotlout. Hiccup remained where he stood, still undecided on whether or not Tuff was telling the truth. It did sound like one of their tricks, but if this was the Banshee, they were dealing with an unknown dragon that did unpredictable things. For instance, kidnap Ruffnut.

"Wait, guys!" Tuff began to beg, "Please, its my sister! We have to help her!" Hiccup was about to turn and order them to stop when a voice came from the darkness.

" _Tuff_."

The strangest thing about the voice... it sounded a lot like Hiccup.

Astrid, Fishlegs, and Snotlout all suddenly stopped and turned to look at Hiccup. Said heir glanced to and fro between Tuffnut and them, equally as surprised.

"That wasn't me." Hiccup informed, eyes wide and body still.

" _Tuff_." the voice called out again, coming from the thick dark behind the trees. The dragons became restless and Toothless stepped in front of Hiccup and growled.

"AHHHHHH!" Tuffnut jumped and ran behind Hiccup, now within the safety of Toothless. "It's coming for me next! It's done with my sister and now it's come back for me!"

" _Tuff_."

The rest gathered together around their dragons, staring fearfully at the darkness.

"Where is that coming from if it's not you?" Snotlout questioned nervously.

"Something in the woods is doing it?" Fishlegs replied, equally as terrified.

"It sounds like you, Hiccup." Astrid stated factually.

"I know, but it's not me." He answered.

" _Hiccup_." Everyone froze. The voice now sounded like Astrid. Astrid gasped and placed her hand over her mouth in shock.

"That wasn't you either, right?" Snotlout asked softly. She simply shook her head no.

"We're all doomed!" Tuff nearly shouted in his shaking form.

"It's mirroring our voices when we say our names..." Hiccup deduced.

" _Hiccup_."

"That means it's intelligent." He concluded.

" _Hiccup_." Hiccup stepped forward despite Toothless disapproval.

"Hello?"

" _Hiccup_."

"Yes, that's me. I'm Hiccup."

"Hiccup don't!" Astrid reached for him to pull him back. Hiccup only raised his hand to stop her.

"It's okay, we won't hurt you. We just want our friend back, the one you took. Her name is Ruffnut." Hiccup continued to talk softly while slowly approaching the trees. He could just barely hear movement behind them, but couldn't see anything.

" _Tuff_." The voice changed back to his own again.

"No, no, Ruffnut." He corrected. "Can you understand me?"

" _Tuff_."

Hiccup looked back at the others and shrugged his shoulders. The bushes rocked as something began moving away.

"Hiccup, it's getting away!" Fishlegs alerted him.

"After it!" Hiccup quickly ordered while he ran to Toothless, both he and Tuff hopping on. "It may take us to Ruff!" The riders raced up into the air, all eyes scanning the trees for movement. At first it seemed as if it had gotten away, but then Snotlout spotted something.

"Over there!" He shouted and pointed down near a clearing. "Something flashed white." Toothless dived down and landed in the clearing, the Night Fury lifting his head high to evaluate the air. No new scents, except...

"Hello...?!" Hiccup furrowed his eyebrows and glanced around, Ruffnut's voice wasn't far away. The other riders landed just as she called out again. "Hello! Is anybody there?!"

"Ruff?" Astrid called out.

"Ruffnut, where are you?!" Hiccup called out as well, his hand cupped at his mouth for better voice projection.

"Over here!" The dragons followed the voice until they came to a thick tree with a net trap hanging from its branches. It was one of their traps they had laid out during the Rumblehorn invasion, and Ruffnut was caught up in it.

"A net trap," Hiccup questioned before glaring at Snotlout, "Snotlout, you were supposed to gather them all up."

"I can't do everything!" Snotlout retorted quickly. Fishlegs got off of Meatlug and the two approached Ruff in the net.

"How did you get yourself in there."

"Me?" She grunted. "I didn't put myself in here, it was that thing."

Hiccup looked dumbfounded, "The dragon put you in there?"

"That's what I said."

"Very intelligent." Fishlegs complimented with a genuine smile.

"Uh, hello, are you going to get me out of here or what." Ruff started fussing about, causing the net to rock back and forth.

"Ugh, now I'm not so sure why I was freaking out in the first place." Tuffnut admitted lowly.

"Oh like you would even care about my well being." She argued with his comment.

"Actually, he did." Astrid informed smugly. "Thought he was going to break down into tears."

Tuff put his hands out, "Shh! No I wasn't!"

"Hello? Get. Me. Down."

"Go ahead, bud." Hiccup ordered and Toothless shot out a plasma blast at the tip of the net where it met the metal hook. The rope burned away and snapped, allowing Ruffnut to fall on her butt. She grunted at the landing and rubbed her tush after standing up.

"Thanks." She replied dryly, but otherwise totally grateful for her release. Hiccup veered his head around to scan the trees.

"Now where did the dragon go?" He questioned outloud. Everyone stood quietly, intent on listening for any signs. But no one heard or saw anything. The dragons were calm meaning nothing threatening was in the area.

"I think it's gone." Fishlegs stated the obvious.

"Good, maybe now I can go to bed." Ruffnut groaned, climbing up into Barf's saddle. The riders took off heading back to Dragon's Edge.

"This makes little sense." Hiccup announced. The other riders looked at him. "Why would the dragon put Ruffnut in one of our traps?"

Tuff shrugged, "Maybe it was just trying to tell us that we forgot one." He suggested before glaring over at Snotlout. "Good job, Snotlout."

"Again with blaming me!" Snotlout growled, throwing his hands up.

"That or... um..." Fishlegs rolled his eyes in thought, a finger pressed against his lips.

"What if it was trying to tell us something?" Hiccup asked, eyes staring straight in thought as well.

"Tell us what exactly?" Astrid inquired, seeing the look on Hiccup's face and knowing his gears were turning. But as suspected, Hiccup only shook his head and decided to speak about it for another time. It was getting late, and they all had a rough week; sleep was widely welcoming to them all.

"I'm not sure, yet." Hiccup replied, adding more weight onto the _yet_. He was going to figure this out he just needed a snooze and a bright sunny day.

Tomorrow they were going to hunt for this dragon and hopefully find some more clues on the whereabouts of these trappers. All the while, hopefully Dagur would give up his crazed chase and disappear back into the oceans. Perhaps one miracle at a time.

* * *

 **A.N.**

 **I got the idea of mimicking voices from the lyrebird. The lyrebird can pretty much imitate any bird calls and also man-made sounds it hears like camera shutters, car alarms, chainsaws, etc. So, because the Banshee is a sound type dragon, I figured why not. Adds onto the creepy.**

 **And I've gotta say, I planned this perfectly for Halloween. Hope you enjoyed!**


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